Patan District, earlier known as Anhil-Vad-Pattan, is situated on the banks of the river Saraswati. It has an area of 6,484 sq km with a population of 1.2 million. Patan is well known for
Patola Sarees.
The headquarters
Patan is a quaint old town with Jain temples and carved wooden houses. Ranakivav (step-well) and Sahasraling Lake are prime attractions. Ranakivav is a 90 feet wide well built in the Khajuraho style by queen Udayamati. The pictures of
Vishnu,
Shiva and other gods and goddesses are seen on the walls of the well. The
Sahastralinga Talav, meaning the tank of a thousand Shiva shrines is another attraction. It is spread over 5 km and was built by Jayasimha Siddharaja.
About 100 Jain temples are situated in Patan, and the temple dedicated to Panchasara Parasvanath is the largest among them. The temple contains a famous white marble idol of Vanaraja. Hemchandracharya Jain Gyan Mandir is near the temple. The mandir has valuable Jain manuscripts, some of which are written in golden ink.
